Swinging gate



(No Model) 2 SheetsSheet 1 W. H. JONES, J. L. RITER 85 J. T. GHENOWETH.

SWINGING GATE.

Patented Ma,1".30 1897.

xx k

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H. JONES, J. L. RITER & J. T. OHENOWETH.

' SWINGING GATE.

No. 579,919. Patented Mar. 30, 1897.

UNiTEn STATES PATENT EETCE.

WILLIAM H. JONES, JOHN L. RITER, AND JOHN T. OHENOIVETH, OF

- BROWNSVILLE, INDIANA.

SWINGING GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 579,919, dated March 30, 1897. Application filed December 15, 1896. Serial No. 615,787. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. JONES, JOHN L. RITER, and JOHN T. OHENOWETH, of Brownsville, in the county of Union and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swinging Gates; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in swinging gates of that class having their upper pivotal end shiftable for the purpose of changing the center of gravity of the gate and lifting its free end to disengage it from the latch for causing the gate to close or open, as the case may be.

The object of our invention is to provide a gate of the aforesaid type with an arm projecting from the operating-lever and coacting with an arm extending from the gate, which exerts a positive pull upon the gate in addition to the tendency thereof to open by the shifting of the center of gravity.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gate with our invention applied thereto, showing the levers forv operating it. Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the pivoted end of the gate, showing the gate closed in solid lines and in the act of being swung open in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a view of the free end of the gate, showing the spring-latch. Fig. 4 is a detached enlarged view of the latch for holding the gate closed. Fig. 5 is a detached enlarged perspective View of the operating plate or lever.

1 indicates a gate of any desired construction, having its rear end or post 2 provided with the usual hinge at its lower end, and its forward end 3 provided with a spring-latch 6, limited in its movement by a staple 7. This spring has a projection 8 engaging a notch in the catch 9, carried by a stop-post 8, by means of which the gate is held open, as will be readily understood.

The catch for the gate when closed, which is carried by the post 4, consists of a plate 5,

having a notch 5 to receive the projection Sand an extension 5 to stop the gate.

Our invention relates particularly to the means for opening and closing the gate, which consists of a plate or lever 10, having at its inner end a fiat portion pivoted on the gatepost 12 at its upper end. The pivotal point of this lever is at 11, and inside of this pivotal point the lever is provided with the slots 14, receiving projections 15, extending upward at opposite sides of the end 2 of the gate, and hence at opposite sides of its lower pivotal point, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. An arm 16 extends rearwardly from plate and is curved in the direction in which the gate opens, and has the two wires or other connections 17 fastened thereto, the opposite ends of these connections being attached to the lower ends of levers 19, intermediately pivoted upon posts 18, which are situated a suitable and covenient distance from the gate, and the upper ends 21 of these levers are connected by a wire 22, so that the gate may be opened or closed by either lever. The inner end of this operating-lever 10 is provided with a laterally-proj ectin g arm 23, having an opening 22, which receives the outer end of a rod 25. The inner end 26 of this rod is rigidly connected to .the gate, and the outer end of the rod is screw-threaded, as shown, to receive the nuts 27 and 28. The arm 23 moves freely upon the rod 25, the rod at that point being an arc of a circle corresponding to the circles described by the end ,of the arm.

The operation of our gate is as follows: When a pull is exerted by the levers upon the curved arm 16 in the direction shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the lever draws upon the pin of the gate situated to one side of the lower pivotal point of the gate, as before described, this movement lifting the free end of the gate and disengaging it from its latch. At this time the arm 23 has traveled on the rod until it engages the nut 28, as shown in dotted lines, and the gate is then pulled open through the medium of the arm 23, assisted by the tendency of the gate to open due to the shifting of the pivotal point of the upper end of the gate, as will be readily understood. This construction causes the gate to open by the combined force of gravity and the pull exerted by the arm 23 on the rod 25. The arm 23, extending out considerable distance from the pivotal point of the gate, gives an increased leverage in swinging the gate open as compared to what it would have if depending upon the pin alone. The nuts 27 and 28 are adj nstable on the rod for the purpose of causing the arm 23 to engage them at the proper time. When closing the gate, the operation just described is reversed, the arm 23 traveling in the opposite direction and engaging the nut 27, and the pin 15 at the opposite side of the gate serving to lift its free end and disengage the fastening.

Attention is directed to the fact that the slots 1% are formed on arcs of circles having as centers the pins at the opposite sides of the plate, or approximately so. The reason for this is that when the lever 10 is operated the upper end of the gate swings on one of the pins 15, the other pin necessarily traveling in the are of a circle from the pin upon which the gate is swinging.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination of the gate hinged at its lower end and provided with pins at its upper end situated at opposite sides thereof, a lever pivoted between its ends and supported independently of the gate and provided with slots receiving said pins, the inner end of the level-having the laterally-extending arm, and a connection from the gate adapted to be engaged by the laterally-extending arm, for the purpose described.

2. The combination of a gate hinged at its lower end and provided with pins at its upper end situated at opposite sides thereof, a lever pivoted between its ends and supported independently of the gate and having slots receiving the pins, and a rod 25 extending from the gate, the inner end of the lever having a laterally-extending arm through which the rod freely passes, said rod having stops situated a distance from said lever and at 0pposite sides thereof when the gate is closed, substantially as described.

The combination of the gate hinged at its lower end and provided with pins at op posite sides of its upper end, a plate pivoted between its ends upon a post and provided with slots at its inner end to receive the pins, the plate having a lateral]y-projecting arm at its inner end, a rod 25 extending from. the gate and passing freely through the laterallyextending arm, and adjustable stops upon the red at opposite sides of the said laterallyextending arm, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIAM II. JONES.

JOHN l). RITER. JOHN T. GIIENOVETIT.

\Vi tn esses:

\V. J. Rrrnn, WILLIAM F. Noums. 

